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Obama's statement regarding torture memos

Text of a written statement by President Barack Obama on
Thursday's release of four significant memos written by the Bush
administration in 2002 and 2005 on the interrogation of terror
detainees:

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The Department of Justice will today release certain memos
issued by the Office of Legal Counsel between 2002 and 2005 as part
of an ongoing court case. These memos speak to techniques that were
used in the interrogation of terrorism suspects during that period,
and their release is required by the rule of law.

My judgment on the content of these memos is a matter of record.
In one of my very first acts as President, I prohibited the use of
these interrogation techniques by the United States because they
undermine our moral authority and do not make us safer. Enlisting
our values in the protection of our people makes us stronger and
more secure. A democracy as resilient as ours must reject the false
choice between our security and our ideals, and that is why these
methods of interrogation are already a thing of the past.

But that is not what compelled the release of these legal
documents today. While I believe strongly in transparency and
accountability, I also believe that in a dangerous world, the
United States must sometimes carry out intelligence operations and
protect information that is classified for purposes of national
security. I have already fought for that principle in court and
will do so again in the future. However, after consulting with the
attorney general, the director of national intelligence, and
others, I believe that exceptional circumstances surround these
memos and require their release.

First, the interrogation techniques described in these memos
have already been widely reported. Second, the previous
administration publicly acknowledged portions of the program and
some of the practices associated with these memos. Third, I have
already ended the techniques described in the memos through an
executive order. Therefore, withholding these memos would only
serve to deny facts that have been in the public domain for some
time. This could contribute to an inaccurate accounting of the
past, and fuel erroneous and inflammatory assumptions about actions
taken by the United States.

In releasing these memos, it is our intention to assure those
who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal
advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject
to prosecution. The men and women of our intelligence community
serve courageously on the front lines of a dangerous world. Their
accomplishments are unsung and their names unknown, but because of
their sacrifices, every single American is safer. We must protect
their identities as vigilantly as they protect our security, and we
must provide them with the confidence that they can do their jobs.

Going forward, it is my strong belief that the United States has
a solemn duty to vigorously maintain the classified nature of
certain activities and information related to national security.
This is an extraordinarily important responsibility of the
presidency, and it is one that I will carry out assertively
irrespective of any political concern. Consequently, the
exceptional circumstances surrounding these memos should not be
viewed as an erosion of the strong legal basis for maintaining the
classified nature of secret activities. I will always do whatever
is necessary to protect the national security of the United States.

This is a time for reflection, not retribution. I respect the
strong views and emotions that these issues evoke. We have been
through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of
great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by
spending our time and energy laying blame for the past. Our
national greatness is embedded in America's ability to right its
course in concert with our core values, and to move forward with
confidence. That is why we must resist the forces that divide us,
and instead come together on behalf of our common future.

The United States is a nation of laws. My administration will
always act in accordance with those laws, and with an unshakeable
commitment to our ideals. That is why we have released these memos,
and that is why we have taken steps to ensure that the actions
described within them never take place again.